Only in America ...

... can you go to the American Girl Place!

And only at American Girl Place ...

... is there a special place in the restroom stall to hang your doll ...

(which Rebecca tried out :) )

... and a special salon where you can have your doll's hair styled ...

... or get your doll's ears pierced (yes, we did this one).

Only at American Girl Place, can you have your doll be an honored guest at your lunch table, complete with her own seat ...

... and her own place setting...

... and you get to eat 3 desserts even though you didn't eat all your lunch.

Only at American Girl Place, can you also learn about the history of your doll ...

... and make some new friends (in this case, a little puppy named Coconut).

But most importantly, you get to make some great memories with your Mommy & Mom-mom! (thanks Mom-mom!)

Then you get to ride the big tour bus home!

a mouthful

I took this picture of Chloe the other day. When I looked at it later I couldn't believe that toothy grin. AND, another bottom tooth just broke through in the last couple days. We are now up to seven teeth. Bring on the steak!

Hide and Seek

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Quotes of the day

First from Audrey:

This afternoon as we walked to the bus stop, Audrey stopped and picked up a big ol' dandelion. You know, the kind with white seeds just asking to be blown across the neighborhood?

She says with great anticipation -"Mommy, I love these, because they have all these seeds. I'm going to plant or blow all of them, and next year we'll have a whole yard FULL of dandelions!!"

:)

Sorry Chad. And everyone else in the neighborhood who is seeking a dandelion-free yard.

And the quote of the day from Carter, because he literally comes up with a quote-worthy statement each day:

"Mommy, can I spit? I want to spit like a big boy."

He just wants to go in the bathroom, stand up on the stool, get a cup of water, put some in his mouth, and spit it out. Over and over and over again. I think spitting must be part of that Y chromosome. That or he's been watching too much baseball with Daddy!

So sweet

Tonight after putting the kids to bed, I went out to the living room to fold laundry. And watch Dancing with the Stars. :)

And ... about 5 minutes later, a little voice drifted out from his room "MOMMY! MOMMY!" (x 10, haha).

I took a deep breath and headed back to Carter & Audrey's room. I am not a fan of "the call-back." When I am done for the night, I am DONE. But I decided to be patient. I am so glad I did.

I walked in and said "What is it, Carter?"

And he said, "Mommy, I luv yoooou. I love you, Mommy."

From the top bunk came "I love you too Mommy. I love you the most, Mommy!'
Audrey, always the competitor. But sweet nonetheless.

Motherhood. The pay stinks, but the rewards are priceless. :)

Wow. 9 months old already!

Chloe has now been outside in the world for as long as she was inside the womb! Weird to think of it that way. It still blows my mind how much a baby changes in utero ... from a single cell to a complex little person. And also equally amazing is how much Chloe has changed from birth to now.

Those first days were kinda scary with Chloe being hooked up to monitors and IV's and spending time in the NICU. But we knew she was in God's hands.

And praise God! Look at her now. Into everything, on the move, full of smiles, curious about her world, and filling our hearts with so much joy.

So what is Chloe up to these days?

Well, she has decided to celebrate 9 months of life by running a fever and wanting Mommy to hold her all the livelong day ... I don't know what's going on. She has no symptoms other than fever and lack of appetite and fussiness.

But fortunately, Chloe is usually such a happy little girl! So that is what I will focus on in this post. ;)

A few firsts this month ...

First Easter

Crawling on hands and knees now ...
First swim

.... have I mentioned that I think this swimsuit is darling? haha

And just for fun ... a few more pictures of Chloe at 9 months.

Oh, another "first" ... I am now able to get a hair bow to stay in Chloe's hair!
Hooray!

Into mischief

Well, I had been using the exersaucer as a blockade to keep Chloe from getting into the cords along the wall. Apparently this is no longer an effective baby-proofing method:

Look who is totally getting into the cords. :(

So, I decided to use a pillow to block them instead. This should be effective for about 2 hours before she figures out how to throw the pillow and get to the cords....
Anyhow, after realizing that the cords were no longer accessible, Chloe decided to turn around and come back. Through the exersaucer.

I apologize for all the photos of Chloe climbing around and getting into stuff (both here and in previous posts) ... it's just that my older two never did this stuff- at least not this early! So I am actually enjoying watching her do all this!

(Apparently she also was having fun with the remote when I wasn't looking too!)

Yay, I'm halfway through!

Ouch, I keep hitting my head up there!

No, really - OUCH!

Phew! I made it!

In other news, Carter fell down the steps yesterday and banged his head really badly. For like the tenth time this month :(
It's hard to tell here, but he looks like he has half a baseball raised off the side of his forehead. It should be nice and black and blue here in a few days.
I think he must be growing into some longer limbs or something because he has been so klutzy lately!
Poor buddy.

Making Daddy (& Grandpa) proud

Many of you ladies out there might not realize this .... but this week was the start of an important season. No, not summer - despite the 90 degree temps this week!

This week was opening week for the MLB ... also known as Major League Baseball. As in, the season that never ends!

In honor of opening day, I am posting a few photos of Carter enjoying the weather and America's favorite pastime.

Swinging for the bleacher seats :)

And a little video ...

Not to be outdone, Chloe shows promise as a southpaw ... check out that pitching form! :)

PLAY BALL!

Spring break and Easter Sunday

Spring Break usually conjures up images of palm trees and Florida ... but since there is no way we were heading there, we opted for good old Lancaster County instead. We told the kids that we were going "on an adventure" for the day. First stop? The Hands on House Children's Museum in Lancaster. It is a pretty small place but perfect for our young kids. We started with an outdoor picnic (hello 80 degree temperatures!) and then played in the outdoor area for a bit before playing inside.

The kids enjoyed the outdoor hopscotch as well as a big outdoor sundial. Audrey was amazed that we could tell the time by using her own shadow.

Carter quickly ran off to a little playhouse and proceeded to get dirty. Boys! I love this picture because it is so Carter - off in his own little world thinking his deep thoughts.

Inside there were a bunch of cool exhibits - a grocery store, a model construction site, a factory where you made your own "whatchamacallit" and a dress-up area with a big pirate ship to play in.

This is why there are not many pictures from the inside of the museum. I was trying to let Chloe get her nap in!

After we left Hands on House, the kids thought we were heading home. Instead we drove over to Willow Valley to spend the night! We went there last year and the kids absolutely loved it - they have an indoor water playground and pool.

Chloe getting ready for her first swim in a pool. In her totally cute bathing suit. I told my neighbors the other day - I almost got tears in my eyes when I put it on her, it was that cute!

I wish this was a clearer picture, because it totally captures Chloe's big cheesy grin that she has started making lately. She had a great time in the pool (although she was so tired that at times she looked like she might just fall asleep in that float!)

I did not get too many pictures of the kids this time. When you have 3 kids in a pool (none of whom are true swimmmers, although Audrey is getting there), you need all hands on deck! So Chad and I were usually both in the pool trying to juggle the 3 kiddos.

We did take a little video of Audrey jumping in. She really surprised me - she was swimming UNDERWATER, sometimes with the floaties, sometimes without. And she was jumping in the pool over and over, going all the way under. This from the kid who used to scream bloody murder when I washed her hair in the tub and got water on her face!

Anyhow, we all had a great time, although I was happy to get home. Staying overnight in a hotel with the kids is tiring. Even when you go to bed at 9:30 pm! I sure don't want to rush away the time, but I do look forward to the day that traveling is a bit easier with them. For now, we have to deal with naps (or grumpy kids who haven't napped), 3 year olds waking up wondering where we are, and a baby who kept waking up.

On to Easter!

This morning we gave the kids their Easter baskets and went to church. We even made it on time for once! Then we headed to my parents' house for lunch and Easter egg hunting.

I am just posting this one picture of the day ... all 3 kids not only facing the camera simultaneously, but also smiling. It is a true Easter miracle. :)

I pray that you are enjoying your Easter today.

I am so thankful today for this:
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." - I John 4:10

And I am challenged by the next verse:
"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
-I John 4:11

Words to live by.